Beach Tomato Recommends: Blissed-Out Beaches

The long and twisting road that leads to Big Sur's Pfeiffer Beach is an adventure in itself, and I love a bit of an adventure. With wooden cabins scattered among the trees, a burger bar literally hanging over a cliff and a walk along a wild beach with only rock sculptures between you and the sun. Tis a surfy holistic paradise.

With Easter island being one of the most remote islands in the world (tis technically Chile, but no mere hop skip and a jump from the mainland), the word escapism can't quite sum up what Anakena Beach on Easter Island offers. It's oh-so-blue water and extra soft sand, makes it pretty much the blueprint for far-flung tanning territory.

Think Maldives, think total tropical beach paradise. This is the clichéd simple life we all dream of and Manafaru with its brilliant blue skies, soft white sand and warm lagoon to laze in does horizontal holidaying like no other. This is the ultimate beach I dream of from my urban abode.

This beach is close to my heard as it is where the idea for Beach Tomato was born. Wandering down the golden sands, watching the local surfers without another bod on the beach the idea came to us. Barra Grande is the ultimate laidback Latin American beach and just perfect post Brazilian carnival for some well-deserved recovery.

Where is hidden island is, a hidden beach surely does follow. Vis Island certainly fits the bill and leads us to the pebbly shore of Stiniva Beach. With the serene Adriatic Sea lapping at the picture-perfect 30-metre stretch of smooth pebbles, Stiniva proves when it comes to beach beauty, size and sand don't always matter.

Being a Scot myself, I may be slightly biased in saying that Scotland have some of the best beaches in the world. Luckily (silver lining) the lack of sun and frequency of rain means that they haven't been ruined by vacationers. However, on a sunny day the shores of St. Ninian's bay on the Isle of Bute be mistaken for a more tropical shore, just with some spectacular mountains as a back drop.

The sugary grains of Aroa Beach weave around the azure Aitutaki lagoon down in the South Pacific's Cook Islands. This is the place where snorkellers and scuba divers mingle with the neon fish. Not the closest of sandy sweeps to get to but perfection often isn't the easy option.